union on the basis of our common standards, received in a common spirit.

Resolved, That a Committee of fifteen, nine of whom shall be ministers of the Gospel, and six ruling elders, be appointed to confer on this subject in the recess of the Assemblies with the Committee to be appointed by the other General Assembly, and to report the re sults to the next General Assembly.

"Resolved, That we enjoin upon this Committee, and upon all our ministers and church-members, to abstain from whatever may hinder a true Christian fellowship, and to cherish and cultivate those feelings and purposes which look to the peace and prosperity of Zion, the edifying of the body of Christ, and the complete union of all believers, especially of those who live in the same land and have the same history and the same standards of doctrine and polity.”

Notwithstanding the spirit of Christian confidence which breathes through these respective resolutions, it does not appear that there was any definite measure then in view beyond the appointment of the Committee of Conference, which was likely to bring about the re sult contemplated. Many on both sides were skeptical as to any good likely to ensue from the proposed conference. Some there were in each Assembly who were personally active in the scenes of the disruption. However, with a good degree of unanimity, the above resolutions were passed in both Assemblies, which immediately proceeded to appoint the proposed Committees. These were selected with care, as representing different sections of the country. Very few of the members were members of the Assemblies then in session. They were chosen from the States of New York, Pennsyl vania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia. As originally constituted, these Committees were as follows:

The

Before these Committees could meet, events occurred which were fitted to produce unusual sobriety. Chairmen of both Committees were removed from all participation in the conference. The Rev. Dr. Brainerd was suddenly translated to that world where all the distinctions of Christian discipleship are lost in the harmony of heaven. The Rev. Dr. Krebs was disabled by severe illness from any share in the deliberations,

and before long he too was united to the great company of Christian ministers in the kingdom of God. Both of these brethren were wise and magnanimous, and their untimely death was profoundly felt throughout the Church.

After correspondence between members of the Committees, they were convened in the city of New York, February 20, 1867, and organized by the appointment of their respective Chairmen, Drs. Beatty and Adams. At first each Committee met by itself. It was natural that some degree of awkwardness should exist, when one was waiting for the movement of the other. At length the two Committees met in joint session. Most of the members were personal strangers. But all estrangement and reserve soon disappeared before the spirit of prayer and honorable Christian confidence. In the first instance, no member of these Committees was so sanguine as to expect immediate action in favor of organic union. The first proposal looked only to closer relations in the work of the Church; the avoidance of rivalry in the establishment of new churches, especially on the frontier settlements. An arrangement of this description had already been inaugurated by the respective Boards of Home Missions. But after continued conference, in which, as the result of the utmost frankness, entire confidence was established, it dawned upon the Committees that they were appointed to accomplish a specific thing. To that point they now addressed themselves with the honest and earnest endeavor to adjust a plan for reuniting the two bodies which they severally represented. It soon appeared, to their own surprise and satisfaction, that a substantial

agreement could be reached. To give opportunity for farther inquiry and information, the Committees adjourned to the month of May. On the first day of that monththey reassembled in the city of New York, and gave an entire week to their deliberations.

The result of the conference appears in the following report, which was made totidem verbis by the two Chairmen to their respective Assemblies, the Old School meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the New School in Rochester, N. Y., in May, 1867:

Com

All the meetings of the Committees were distinguished by a degree of courtesy and unanimity, which was more than common. posed of men of decided individuality, representing divers interests and sections, they have discussed every question, many of them of admitted delicacy and difficulty, with the utmost frankness, without one word or expression of any kind ever to be regretted by Christian brethren who felt the grave responsibilities of their position.

The result of their conferences is contained in the following document, adopted in Joint Committee with remarkable unanimity:

PROPOSED TERMS OF REUNION BETWEEN THE TWO BRANCHES OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The Joint Committee of the two General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church, appointed for the purpose of conferring on the desirableness and practicability of uniting these two bodies, deeply impressed with the responsibility of the work assigned us, and having earnestly sought Divine guidance, and patiently devoted ourselves to the investigation of the questions involved, agree in presenting the following for the consideration, and, if they see fit, for the adoption, of the two General Assemblies:

Believing that the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom would be promoted by healing our divisions; that practical union would greatly augment the efficiency of the whole Church for the accomplishment of its divinely appointed work; that the main causes producing division have either wholly passed away, or become in a great degree in·

operative; and that two bodies, bearing the same name, adopting the same Constitution, and claiming the same corporate rights, cannot be justified by any but the most imperative reasons in maintaining separate and, in some respects, rival organizations; and regarding it as both just and proper that a Reunion should be effected by the two Churches, as independent bodies and on equal terms; we propose the following terms and recommendations as suited to meet the demands of the case:

1. The Reunion shall be effected on the doctrinal and ecclesiastical basis of our common standards; the Confession of Faith shall continue to be sincerely received and adopted "as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures;" and its fair, historical sense, as it is accepted by the two bodies in opposition to Antinomi anism and Fatalism on the one hand, and to Arminianism and Pelagianism on the other, shall be regarded as the sense in which it is received and adopted; and the Government and Discipline of the Presbyterian Church in the United States shall continue to be approved as containing the principles and rule of our polity.

2. All the ministers and churches embraced in the two bodies shall be admitted to the same standing in the united body which they may hold in their respective connections up to the consummation of the Union; and all the churches connected with the united body, not thoroughly Presbyterian in their organization, shall be advised to perfect their organization as soon as is permitted by the highest interests to be consulted; no other such churches shall be received; and such persons alone shall be chosen Commissioners to the General Assembly, as are eligible according to the Constitution of the Church.

3. The boundaries of the several Presbyteries and Synods shall be adjusted by the General Assembly of the united Church.

4. The official records of the two branches of the Church for the period of separation shall be preserved and held as making up the one history of the Church; and no rule or precedent which does not stand approved by both the bodies shall be of any authority until re-established in the united body.

5. The corporate rights, now held by the two General Assemblies and by their Boards and Committees, shall, as far as practicable, be consolidated and applied for their several objects as defined by law.